Police Incident Reports A Selection of Noteworthy Incident Reports

Incidents listed are selected by the Officer In Charge of each shift that may have significant public interest.
Incidents listed are not inclusive of all incidents. To view Calls for Services information, please visit CrimeReports.com. Requests for information can be directed to the MPD Records Unit: (608) 266-4075.

Incident Type

Incident Date

Address

Arrested

Update

And now for the rest of the story: When the armed robber entered the popular eatery and gathering place, he would not have known one late-night diner would be so bold.

But there is a sense of neighborhood pride for many in the Capitol City, and the 43-year old who took action in this case is one such Madisonian. It also helped that he has spent the last few years studying Northern Shaolin kung fu.

So there he was, inside the Alchemy early Monday morning, when a masked man, brandishing some type of weapon, walked in and blurted out: "Give me the money!" An employee opened the till and started to gather cash.

The kung fu trained patron began to get up, but as he did the suspect pointed the "barrel" of his weapon, and told the man to sit down or get shot. The witness did not think that which the suspect held looked like a gun (it turned out to be a metal pipe) and as the robber turned his attention back to money, the diner believed opportunity was now his.

His knowledge of Northern Shaolin kung fu told him that if he used a forearm to strike the suspect's head or neck, he could knock him down, and so he did.

The robber's fixation on bills being placed on the bar ended in that instant. He ended up staring at the floor. "I saddled him and held him around the torso," said the man who had just delivered the forearm blow.

With the suspect down, an employee hustled everyone else out of the Alchemy as police responded.

The suspect was arrested, and an officer began getting a statement from the bold 43-year old. As he did, an Alchemy employee approached. She was visibly upset and crying as she grabbed the diner's hand and thanked him for "saving us."

Words of gratitude caused him to also become overcome with emotion. "This was his neighborhood and he did not want to see this happen," he said as he began tearing up.

The officer thanked the man for being "very courageous." He will be nominated for a departmental citizen recognition award.

Last updated 05/13/2014 at 11:43 AM by PIO Joel DeSpain

Details

The suspect entered the bar with an approximately 31-inch black pipe in his hand and a green t-shirt around his face. He then directed the bartender to give him all the money. The bartender complied. A patron at the bar then overpowered the suspect, and held him for police.